1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of systems, methods and search engines for information retrieval based on hierarchic data knowledge and more particularly to systems, methods and search engines enabling dynamic searches by enabling dynamic expansion of input search queries.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Search engines are targeted at retrieving information from databases, organized according to different hierarchies, pertaining to an input query inserted by a user. The input query is usually textual (a word or a combination of words), where the search engine usually “reads” the text query according to predefined rules enabling the engine to search through the data sources according to keywords in the text and according to the structure of the input query.
Search engines are often scaled according to the relevancy of information they enable to retrieve in relation to the input query complexity and/or according to the way they facilitate the user in building a query that will lead to a more relevant search results. Many websites charge advertisers for presenting their ads according to search queries and since the advertiser usually pays for each presentation. Therefore, it is highly important for advertisers to reach audiences that are more likely to be potential customers and avoid redundant charging.
To allow a more focused and relevant search through the enormous amount of data sources and data that is available, some search interfaces allow the user to input personal details such as gender, age, nationality, and the like and create a personal profile of the user to further facilitate in searching for information that relates to the personal details of the user in addition to his/her input query text. For example, the search results for a query input text “old movies” inputted by an American male at the age of fifty may be different from the results of a sixteen-year-old Swedish girl.
To further improve searching the data sources, many systems use hierarchic interfaces enabling users to build more structured and elaborated queries.
Unfortunately, those techniques require the user to input personal details, which the user may be reluctant to reveal.
Another downside to these techniques is that the personal input details that are received from the user may not be sufficient to all types of query options and may not be related to categories that can further facilitate in associating the right search results to the query of the user in relation to the user's input details.